The NBA has sent out a series of press releases on the overnight ratings for its All-Star Weekend events, which were very strong across the board.

The format change to the “Rising Stars Game” — which went to a “Team Shaq vs. Team Chuck” format this year, as opposed to the traditional rookies vs. sophomores format, was a huge success, as the game drew a record number of eyeballs:

Despite the fact that the Dunk Contest featured very little star power, the All-Star Saturday night ratings were tied for the second-highest ratings in the history of the event. The ratings were the same as they were in 2009, when Nate Robinson won his 2nd dunk contest title by putting on a glowing green outfit and jumping over Dwight Howard:

Finally, the All-Star Game itself drew its 2nd-highest overnight rating since the 2005 game, despite the fact it aired on the same night as the Academy Awards:

During one of the busiest and most-watched nights on television, TNT’s exclusive coverage of the 2012NBAAll-Star Game in Orlando, FLdelivered an overall 5.4 US HH rating in metered market overnights. The metered market rating is the second highest-rated overnight since 2005 (5.9 metered market rating).

This is all good news: it’s another sign that the lockout didn’t prevent fans from coming back to basketball when the games and exhibitions actually started up again.

Lest you think that star players trying to recruit others stars was just some isolated little fad, we bring you Kevin Love.

If he doesn’t sign an extension with the Timberwolves (and they plan on offering him a max deal or at least near it), Love could be a restricted free agent in 2012. (Well, at least under the current system, who knows what the rules will be then.) That’s a couple years away and the Wolves could — and almost certainly would — match any offer Love got.

“A lot of it was (about) OKC,” Love said. “A lot of it was a few other teams that just need that one more guy. And a lot of it was circulating around the Lakers, ’cause we were out there as well. There was a lot of pressure and a lot of questions were circulating, and I almost felt like, ‘Damn, I have to take a step back and, not assess the situation, but kind of look at things from a broad horizon.’

“As far as right now, I love the city of Minneapolis. I like Minnesota as a state. I love the people here. Our team is very young. We have a lot of stuff going for us when you look past the win column. I think I just have to look at that come contract time.”

The important thing there — Love is looking at the big picture. Which means he wants to see Minnesota move toward the top of the league or… who knows what? Recruiting players now, until we see what a CBA looks like is kind of moot. If there is franchise tag, you can recruit him all you want the Wolves would maintain all the power.

NBA TV is about to air a new show “24 Hours with Blake Griffin” starting Friday (the premiere is Friday, 6 p.m. Eastern). The show follows Griffin as he is the rock star of All-Star Weekend, doing the Rookie Challenge, the Slam Dunk Contest and the All-Star Game itself. There are all sorts of other players fawning over Griffin.

And, there is footage of him in the dunk contest rehearsal. Not in this clip though, you’ll have to watch the show for that.

The All-Star game is an exhibition first and foremost, and when players are trying harder to entertain the crowd than they are to play good basketball, it’s hard to put too much stock into the results. Still, this year’s All-Star game was one of the most entertaining and competitive games in years, and a few players did put on virtuoso performances while others struggled. Without further ado, let’s take a look at who had the best and worst All-Star Game:

Winner: Kobe Bryant

On Wednesday night, Kobe Bryant shot 8-24 and committed 7 turnovers in a loss to one of the worst NBA teams in decades. On Sunday night, a rested, motivated Bryant torched the best players in the Eastern Conference for 37 points, and was probably the player most responsible for making the game unusually competitive.

Kobe wasn’t interested in trying to pull of behind-the-back passes, intricate Alley-oops, left-handed threes, or any of the other shenanigans that usually take place in the All-Star game; he was taking Dwyane Wade to the post, getting back on defense, and throwing down some of the most vicious dunks he’s had in years.

Bryant was, by his own admission, exhausted by the time the fourth quarter came around, but still had enough in the tank to seal the game by preventing the East from pulling down a key rebound with seconds left to play. Bryant didn’t break Wilt Chamberlain’s All-Star scoring record, but he did more than enough to win his fourth All-Star MVP and elevate the level of the game as a whole.

Loser: Dwight Howard

Howard played 21 minutes on Sunday, but you’d be hard-pressed to remember any of them. Howard showed little interest in playing offense or defense, didn’t block a single shot, and half of his four field goal attempts were from beyond the arc. That’s not what you want to see from Dwight Howard.

Winner: Kevin Durant

Durant bounced back from his embarrassing three-point contest with a vengeance. Kobe was the only player to have scored more than Durant, who looked like he was in a groove for most of the game and ultimately closed the game out by scoring seven points in the final 2:18 of play.

Losers: Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan

It’s hard to call KG and Tim Duncan “losers,” but they helped prove that the All-Star game is not the ideal environment for aging big men who make a bigger impact on defense than they do on offense. KG does get some points for being the loudest cheerleader on either bench, even when he was cheering on LeBron James.

Winner: Amar’e Stoudemire and Blake Griffin

The All-Star game WAS made for big men like Stoudemire and Griffin. Griffin dunked all over the court, managed to record five assists, and got the crowd chanting for him in fourth quarter, while Amar’e racked up 29 points with an efficient mix of dunks, jumpers, and drives to the basket.

Losers: Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony

New York rumors have been circling Carmelo and, to a lesser extent, Williams all weekend — both of them seemed distracted, and they combined to shoot 6-17 from the field on Sunday.

Winner: LeBron James

LeBron’s team didn’t get the win, but he recorded the second-triple double in All-Star history and made the game competitive again with a series of awe-inspiring drives to the basket. It’s hard enough to stop LeBron in a game played at a normal pace with normal defensive intensity — with the speed of the game ratcheted up and the defense a bit lax, James is impossible to stop.

Winner: Russell Westbrook

Westbrook’s line wasn’t amazing, but he had some of the most incredible plays of the night — a rim-rocking dunk in transition, a nasty crossover on Dwyane Wade that set up a step-back jumper, and an incredible scoop shot. This year’s All-Star game was one of the best in years, and the play of guys like Westbrook, Durant, and Blake Griffin is a sign that there are more great All-Star games to come when the next generation takes over.